Airplane lift augmenting means



March 22, 1960 N. J. MUNRG AIRPLANE LIFT AUGMENTING MEANS Filed Aug. 19, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet l N. J. MUNRO AIRPLANE LIFT AUGMENTING MEANS March 22, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 19, 1957 March 22, 1960 N. J. MuNRo 2,929,582

AIRPLANE LIFT AUGMENTING MEANS Filed Aug. 19, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 March 22, 1960 N. J. MUNRO 2,929,582

AIRPLANE LIFT AuGM-ENTING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 nited States Patent@ i AIRPLANE LIFT AUGVIENTING MEANS Norman J. Munro, Beaumaris, Victoria, Australia, assignor to Commonwealth of Australia, Crown Solicitors Oilice, Canberra, Australia Application August 19, 1957, Serial N 678,825

Claims priority, application Australia August 24, 1-956 1 Claim. (Cl. 244-42) This invention relates to lift augmenting means and is concerned more particularly with means for increasing the lift on a body moving through a fluid, and particularly on aircraft moving through air.

The invention is broadly characterized by the provision of at least one member extending or adapted to be ex tended from the body and having one or more apertures in the wall or walls thereof, and means for forcing fluid out of said aperture or apertures.

The invention has particular application to the augmentation of lift already obtainable from a lifting surface and in accordance with a preferred form of the invention the said lifting surface is provided with at least one tubular member retractable into the lifting surface, said member having a slot or line of holes therein, and means for forcing fluid into said tubular member or members.

The said tubular members may be of circular or other cross-section but are preferably of aerofoil cross-section.

The means according to the invention results in an augmentation or" the lift which is already obtainable on the body, rstly because of the additional lift which the tube or tubes themselves may provide and secondly by the reaction of the uid ejected. Furthermore, where the tubular members are retractably mounted in a lifting surface, extra lift is induced on the lifting surface itself by the effective increase in span caused by the location of the tubes, i.e., by an increase in aspect ratio.

The invention also enables longitudinal and lateral control of an aircraft to be effected by dierential throttling of ow to either side of sets of tubes located one set at each side of the aircraft, or to individual tubes on either side.

The movement of the tubes may be effected by electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic means, e.g. by the pressure of the air or gas admitted into the tubes.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of particular forms thereof. In this description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan View of an aircraft provided with lift augmenting means, said means being shown in the extended position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one lifting surface of the aircraft shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, the lift augmenting means being fully retracted.

Figure 4 is a view in section on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views in section on the lines 5 5, 6 6, and 7-7 respectively of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of an aircraft provided with a modified form of lift augmenting means.

Figure 9 is a frontal fragmentary view of the aircraft shown in Figure 8.

Figure l is a fragmentary view in sectional elevation, looking in the same direction as Figure 9 showing retracting means.

Figure ll is a fragmentary plan view of the means shown in Figure 10, and

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Figure 12 is a frontal fragmentary view of an aircraft provided with a further modified form of lift augmenting means.

In the drawings the same reference characters refer to like or corresponding parts.

Referring firstly to Figure l of the drawings, there is illustrated therein a high speed aircraft 21 having low aspect ratio Wings 22. Each Wing 22 one of which is shown in greater detail in Figures 2 and 3, is provided with a number of retractable tubular members 23 of aerofoil cross-section as shown in Figures 4, 6 and 7. Each tubular member 23 is made in two sections'24, 25, which are fastened together by countersunk bolts 26 and which provide between them a slot 27. This slot is arranged so that air or other gas admitted to the interior of the tube under superatmospheric pressure will flow out the slot and emerge more or less tangential to the surface in a downstream direction.

The tubular members 23 extend through suitable aper tures in the end wall 28 of the wing 22 and are connected at their outer ends to a plate 29 which is of the same shape and size as the said end wall 28. The plate 29 serves to connect the tubularV members 23 together asV a rigid unit and when the members 23 are fully retracted the plate 29 is flush against the wall 28 as indicated in ported by upper and lower bearing pads 30 and 3l bei- Beside theseV tween which the members 23 may slide. pads there are brackets 32 and 33 which rigidly support two channel shaped members 34 and 35. These members 34 and 35 are each tapered so that their flanges converge slightly in the direction away from the fuselage and they are arranged to engage with wedgeshaped projections 36 and 37 formed integrally in the members 23. The projections 36 and 37 are arranged to wedge into the channels 34 and 35 when the tubular members 23 are fully extended so as to hold the latter rigidly with respect to the wing.

Two further pairs of upper and lower bearing pads 36 and 31 for each member 23 are mounted within the wings so that as the members 23 are retracted they each engage firstly Within one pair of bearing pads and naliy within the other pair.

Retraction and extension of the tubular members is effected by a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 38 mounted to operate in a fore and aft direction. The piston rod 39 of the cylinder 38 is connected to a cross-bar 4% and wires 41 from the cross-bar extend around guide pulleys 42 and return pulleys 43 and are connected to lugs 44 xed to the tubular members 23. Thus on the forward stroke of the piston rod the tubular members are extended and on the rearward stroke they are retracted.

Air or gas for admission to the tubular members is conveyed along a pipe 45 from a suitable source, such as a stage of the aircraft engine 45A and shown in Figure l, to a manifold 46 and from this, telescopic tubular connections 47 lead to the inner ends of the tubular members 23.

For normal operation of the aircraft, the tubular members 23 are fully retracted but when additional lift is required the control is operated to cause full or partial extension of the members. Extra lift is then obtained, partly because of the lift on the aerofoil section tubular members themselves, partly because of the lift provided by the ejection of the air or gas, and partly because of the increased aspect ratio created by the extension of the wings by the tubular members.

Referring now to Figures 8 to 1l of the drawings there is shown therein an aircraft 43 provided with lift augmenting means comprising two tubular members 49, one at each side. These members are preferably of aeros Patented MaraZZ, 1916i)- ber is disposed vertically in the fuselage of the aircraft but its upper end is bent over at right angles Vfor con-Y nection to the horizontal member 49. The members-52v is 'provided with two flange plates 53 and 54 and bear-Y ings 575 and 55 are disposedbetween them and other plates 57 and 5S iixed to the fuselage, whereby the mem- Y ber 52 is supported for rotation about its'ownaxis.

An inlet pipe 59 extends through the plate 578, connecting tothe member 52 so as to admit air or otherfgas throughY the member 52 into the member 49. As shown in Figure 9 this gas may come ofthe aircraft. A

The member' 49 is further supported from the member from oneY of the motors VY59A 53 by a strut 60. Suitably shaped openings are provided Vin the fuselage to allow the members 49 and their struts 6ft `to be extended and retracted and suitable doors 61 are provided to close these openings'. The movement Vof the members 49 and 52 is effected bylevers 62 which are iixed to the members 52'and are connected by Vlinks 63 to a cross bar 64 fastened to the piston rod 65 offa cylinderf. Y Y

The arrangment Shown in Figure12 of the drawings is similar to that shown'rin Figure 8 but kWhereas in that figure the aircraftris a low Wing' monoplane and the lift.

augmenting tubular members are extended above it, in Figure l2 the aircraft 67 is a high wing monoplane and thetubular lift augmenting members 68 are extended below it. In this case, ties g'support the latter members. YIn other respects, the arrangement of VFigure 12 may be similar to that shown in Figures 8 to 11.1

I claim:

Means for augmenting the lift of an aircraft having aY fuselage and wings secured to said fuselage, comprising bearing pads secured within said Wings, a plurality of hollow tubular members slidably mounted in said bearging pads for partial extension from the extremities of said wings and for complete retraction within said wings, saidV tubular members having axes generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said aircraft when said members are in their extended state, the ends of said tubular fmembers which extend in their extended state from the extremities of Veach'of said wings being connected, each of said tubular Amembers having wedge-shaped projections thereon inV cooperative engagement 'with channelshaped portions of s aid bearingpads when said Vtubular members are in their extended state' to hold said Vtubular I' members rigid with respect to the Wings, each Lof lsaid tubular members also having at least one slot therein,

means for slidably displacing said tubular members relaf tive to said wings, and,l means for blowing a gaseousV Vfluid from said 'aircraft through .said tubular 'members fory emission through the slots therein.

s References Cited in th-evle of this patentr UNITED STATES PATENTS '1,580,577' Baumann Aprgigwjzs" 2,111,274 Bellanca Y-- Mar.f15, 1938 saniert. sept. 3, 19467 

